


Derek Has a Good Day

by HelloWhyTheFuckAmIHere



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Vernon Boyd & Erica Reyes, Awesome Sheriff Stilinski, Derek Hale Deserves Nice Things, M/M, Minor Vernon Boyd/Erica Reyes, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Stiles Stilinski is a Nice Thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-29 03:57:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15064616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HelloWhyTheFuckAmIHere/pseuds/HelloWhyTheFuckAmIHere
Summary: Derek wakes up feeling optimistic and decides to run with it.This is literally just 5k words of Derek Hale having a good day because he deserves it.





	Derek Has a Good Day

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Derek Has a Good Day (Traduccion)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15096629) by [yuki_yuki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuki_yuki/pseuds/yuki_yuki)



Derek wakes up feeling optimistic.

It’s such an unfamiliar feeling that it takes him a while to remember its name. But his head is clear, his stomach feels light, and when he throws off the covers to stand up, he finds that there’s a slight bounce in his step.

The thought makes Derek smile. He ducks his head to hide it before realizing there’s no one nearby he has to put on his practiced mask for. So he lets himself smile and gets ready for the day, determined to stretch out his happiness as long as Beacon Hills will let him.

With no current baddie to fight and the pack on summer break, there’s nothing for him to do that day except what he wants to do. Derek heads down to the main floor of the loft to grab some water for his run, when he sees Isaac sleeping on the couch.

He gives into his Alpha instincts momentarily and drapes a blanket over his sleeping beta. Their relationship has been less strained lately, and Derek really is doing his best to mend it.

The presence of a blanket rouses Isaac, who looks around sheepishly when he figures out what has woken him.

“Oh, sorry,” he mutters. He sits up and stretches, preparing to leave.

“It’s fine,” Derek grunts from behind the refrigerator door. There’s a voice in his head telling him to be more friendly. Instead of pushing it away like he usually does, Derek listens to it. “Don’t worry about it, really. You’re always welcome here.” He thinks a smile would be a bit much, so he keeps his head firmly in the fridge even after he’s gotten his water bottle.

When he finally closes the door, he looks into the living room and finds Isaac giving him a shy smile. The hope in his eyes is evident even from fifteen feet away. Derek can’t help give the boy a close-mouthed smile in return.

“I, uh, I was about to go for a run. You want to join me?” he asks Isaac somewhat stiltedly.

Isaac nods excitedly and almost trips over himself in his haste to put on his shoes.

Derek frowns, wondering how neglected his beta must feel to be this excited at the prospect of a simple jog, but shakes the thought from his head immediately. This is progress, as Stiles says.

So he takes a deep, calming breath and doesn’t hide his smile this time when he and Isaac head out into the crisp morning air for their run. 

They jog mostly in silence. Derek takes a few opportunities to teach Isaac about some of the plants they pass in the Preserve, but mostly they don’t speak.

Derek almost chuckles aloud when he realizes they have taken the path towards Stiles’ neighborhood. It’s a familiar path to him – one he has run many times during patrol. He nods towards Stiles’ street and gets a nod from Isaac in return.

They slow down as they approach the driveway, spotting the Sheriff walking towards the mailbox in his pajamas. He looks up when they round the corner and waves. Derek is surprised to see that the man looks genuinely happy to see them. 

The thought causes another wave of happiness to wash over him. He can see Isaac smile out of the corner of his eye as the scent of a happy Alpha reaches the boy’s nose. He shoulder checks Isaac gently, delighting in the surprised laugh it elicits from him.

“Morning,” John manages through a yawn. He smiles at them warmly once the yawn has subsided and nods towards the house. “You boys hungry?”

Derek can smell pancake batter and chocolate chips inside. His mouth starts to water, but he waits for Isaac to answer.

“Hell yeah!” he says, as if he was just waiting for John to ask. He runs up the driveway and through the front door. Derek laughs when he hears Stiles’ surprised squeak from the kitchen.

He looks at the Sheriff nervously, but the man just smiles and beckons for Derek to join them.

Watching Stiles try and make pancakes is much funnier than it has any right to be. When he’s not shooing his dad out of the kitchen or fighting with his whisk, he’s cursing at the griddle for not helping him make perfectly round pancakes. They all come out in odd shapes, but they smell delicious.

Derek is surprised when Stiles piles a few blueberry ones on his plate with the chocolate chip. 

“Gotta balance out that sweet tooth with some healthy foods, right?” he says with a wink.

Derek’s first instinct is to run. He’s not used to being taken care of. As an Alpha, that’s his job. A job he hasn’t been doing very well at, but still. 

Instead, he shoots Stiles a toothy grin and delights in how sweet it makes his scent. 

He and Isaac leave an hour later, after finishing the dishes at Derek’s insistence. They walk back to the loft, both of them too full to run. Isaac surprises Derek at the top to the stairs when he scoops him up into a tight hug. 

Before Derek could reciprocate or flee, Isaac lets go and runs upstairs to shower.

Deciding to follow his good mood for at least a little while longer, Derek calls Lydia after he showers and changes for the day. 

“Derek? What’s wrong? Is everyone ok?”

He rolls his eyes, but fights against the corners of his mouth as they start to turn upwards. “Everything’s fine. I was just wondering if you might want to take a look at some of the books my family has on banshees?”

Lydia’s tiny gasp of surprise is barely audible. It takes her a few seconds to work through her thoughts before she responds. “Yes,” she whispers. “I’d like that very much.”

Happiness blooms through Derek’s chest at the thought of having pleased one of his packmates. He tells her he’ll pick her up in half an hour and heads downstairs feeling lighter than he has in a while.

Lydia’s leg bounces up and down nervously for the first few minutes of the drive from her house to the vault where Derek’s family kept the majority of their books and research. Derek’s mind immediately goes to the worst case scenarios that may be causing her nerves, but he steels himself and asks her what’s wrong.

Her leg stops bouncing and she bites her bottom lip. “I want to say something, but I don’t want to overstep my bounds. I really want to see the books you told me about.”

Derek frowns, trying to understand her concern. When it hits him, the blissful wave he’s been riding all day stutters momentarily. “Lydia, I would never –.” He stops himself when he realizes that she actually has every reason to believe that he wouldn’t take her to the books if she said something that upset him. “I won’t do that,” he settles on. “I told you I would let you see my family’s library, and I will. I promise you, nothing you say will change that.”

She must see something in his expression that reassures her, because she nods firmly in response. “Well, I was wondering if you might talk to Scott.”

He pouts involuntarily, prompting Lydia to giggle. It is a noise so out of character for the banshee that it elicits a chuckle from Derek in response. “Sorry,” Derek says through a laugh. “It’s just, Scott isn’t always receptive to our talks.”

Now it’s Lydia’s turn to roll her eyes. “Maybe because your talks almost always include some sort of fighting, howling, or yelling?” She smiles, but sobers quickly. “I think he’s having a hard time with the whole True Alpha thing. And he’s been avoiding Allison since she almost died in his arms during the Nogitsune’s reign of terror.”

Later, Derek will blame his good mood for his response, but he finds himself agreeing to talk to his fellow Alpha.

They pull up to the vault and Derek leads Lydia straight to his family’s section on banshees. He flinches when she reaches for the shelf, but Lydia just runs her fingers down a few spines to read their names. She handled the books reverently, with a respect that makes Derek’s throat feel tight. 

He leaves her to it, trusting her enough to be alone with the books, and decides to take a trip down memory lane. 

Derek gets lost looking through old photographs and heirlooms. The pit he thought he’d feel in his chest never comes. Only happiness. He is so encouraged by his contentment that he allows Lydia to take a few of the books back home with her.

He is rewarded with a shriek and a swift kiss on his cheek. Derek rolls his eyes at Lydia, but secretly cannot believe how well his morning is turning out.

Surely the other shoe is bound to drop soon.

He gives Lydia a ride home and idles in her driveway for a minute, working up the courage to call Scott. He hits the call button next to Scott’s name and waits. His hopes are not up, since Scott never answers his phone, so imagine his surprise when – 

“Derek?”

Derek snorts at the bewilderment in Scott’s voice. “Yeah, it’s me. I was just wondering if you wanted to grab a bite?”

Scott is silent for so long, Derek would have thought he’d hung up if he couldn’t hear the boy breathing.

“Uh, sure,” he responds uncertainly.

“Great.” Derek smiles, knowing Scott can hear it in his voice. “Meet me at the diner on 4th in an hour?”

The timeline gives Derek enough cushion to head back to the loft to drop off some of the trinkets he collected from the vault. Among them is a photo of his extended family after a full moon run when he was thirteen. He puts it into a new frame and places it on a side table by the front door, which is when he notices a package. He sniffs it and can only smell Isaac, who must have been at the loft when it was delivered.

He slides open the envelope and has to sit down when he reads what’s inside. The envelope contains all the paperwork necessary to demolish and reconstruct his family home. 

Overcome by emotion, Derek whips out his phone and texts the first person that comes to his head. 

To Stiles (12:14 pm): Did you do this?

He focuses on his breathing and tamps down the part of himself that wants to jump for joy. He’s thought about rebuilding his house for months, but actually pulling the trigger on the paperwork had always felt like a betrayal. He can’t believe someone has done it for him.

Derek jumps when his phone vibrates in his hand. 

From Stiles (12:14 pm): ;)

Derek lets out a hysterical giggle. The sound is so foreign to him, it causes him to stand up and look around, sure there is a threat nearby. There’s no way he can be having this good a day. And it’s not even halfway done yet.

He whips out his phone again.

To Stiles (12:15pm): Have you heard anything about witches or a spell recently?

From Stiles (12:15pm): What kind of spell? Are you ok?

Stiles’ concern makes Derek smile again. His cheeks are starting to hurt, but in the best way.

To Stiles (12:15pm): No, it’s just… I’m having a really good day.

From Stiles (12:16pm): …And you think it’s because of a spell?

From Stiles (12:16pm): Dude, I think you were just due.

Derek rolls his eyes, but the tension leaves his shoulders. Stiles isn’t wrong.

To Stiles (12:16pm): Don’t call me dude.

He’s got time to kill, so Derek decides to check his email. He’s rewarded with a new email from Cora. It’s just a meme that he doesn’t get, but it puts yet another smile on his face. Derek resolves to get Stiles’ help with his responding meme, and closes his laptop.

Since there’s still a good half hour before he needs to be at the diner, Derek decides a walk to lunch is in order. As he wanders around downtown, he’s surprised to notice some of the shop owners waving at him. He waves back tentatively at first. After the first few, he finds that he feels lighter with every step. He waves back with a smile, and laughs when the old woman who owns the coffee shop fakes a swoon.

He arrives at the diner a few minutes early and takes a seat towards the back. A middle aged woman with light brown hair and laugh lines approaches his table almost immediately.

“You’re Talia’s boy, aren’t you?”

Derek is surprised to find that the words don’t hurt as much as he thought they would. “Yes ma’am,” he replies with a polite nod.

She smiles at him kindly and pours him some water. “Sheriff Stilinski says you cleaned his gutters good and proper a few weeks back.”

He’s taken aback momentarily, certain that John hadn’t known it was him who had done that, but he plasters a smile on his face. “I did, yes,” he says, unsure where the conversation is going.

“You’re a good boy,” is all she says. 

Derek relaxes into the booth, a pleased smile overtaking his face. He stays that way even as Marge, according to her name tag, leaves him to attend to another table.

The bell on the door dings and Derek can tell it’s Scott without even looking up. The boy approaches Derek’s booth apprehensively and slides in without a word.

Derek can’t help but chuckle at Scott’s increased heart rate. “Relax, Scott. I didn’t call you here to kill you or anything.”

Scott squints at him suspiciously. “That’s what Stiles said you’d say.”

He’ll never tell anyone how absurdly pleased he is at the prospect of Stiles defending him to Scott. Thankfully Scott is too preoccupied to notice the change in Derek’s scent.

“I, uh,” Derek starts pathetically. “I heard you’ve been having a hard time with the whole True Alpha thing.”

Scott sits up straighter in his seat. “Oh,” he exclaims, relieved. “Yeah, actually, I have.”

Derek takes a deep breath and tries not to look like it pains him to continue their conversation.

They talk for over an hour, about control and leadership and even a little about Allison. Scott steals a few of Derek’s fries while Derek pretends not to notice.

All in all, it feels nice. Nicer still when Derek asks for the bill and Marge tells him their meal is on the house.

Derek almost can’t believe how his day is turning out. He knows it’s foolish, but he is starting to ignore the part of him that says it can’t possibly last.

Scott hesitates outside the door before gathering Derek up into a hug. Derek coughs in surprise, but hugs him back.

He can’t help but think that Stiles was right – Scott does act like a puppy dog when he’s happy.

The thought makes him laugh as he walks home. There's a skip in his step as he decides to treat himself to some frozen yogurt around the corner from the loft. 

There’s a little girl, no older than three, sitting on her dad’s shoulders in front of him in line. She looks around the shop until her gaze falls on Derek. Derek is used to kids being intimidated by what Laura liked to refer to as his ‘resting murder face,’ but this little girl just smiles at him.

He feels himself smile back and lifts his hand in a wave. She waves back and giggles, delighted to have made a new friend. Derek notices her dad’s hands leave her ankles while he pays but doesn’t think anything of it until the girl starts tipping backwards.

Derek jumps forward and manages to catch the now-wailing child right before she hits the ground. He holds her close to his chest instinctively and starts to rumble like his dad used to when Derek or one of his siblings was upset.

“Oh my god, thank you so much!” her dad exclaims, abandoning his wallet and their frozen yogurts on the counter. He holds his hands out to his daughter but she nuzzles deeper into Derek’s chest. She wraps her chubby arms around his neck and mumbles something no one can quite understand.

“Uh,” Derek stammers awkwardly. “Why don’t I hold her while you pay?” 

The man nods uncertainly. “Ok. Here, let me buy you a cone. It’s the least I can do, really.”

Derek’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise, but he schools his face quickly and agrees. The dad, whose name turns out to be Brian, thanks Derek profusely again and again as the transaction goes through.

The little girl, Cheryl, refuses to let go of Derek even after they all have their frozen yogurt. Derek just shrugs and sits down with Cheryl on his lap, gesturing for Brian to sit across from him.

He and Brian talk a bit stiltedly at first, but they end up having quite a bit in common. Derek is shocked to discover that Brian’s wife, Leslie, was even in Laura’s graduating class.

They chat for a while until Cheryl lets out a huge yawn. She curls into Derek’s chest again and mumbles, “grrr.”

Derek chuckles as soon as he understands what she wants, and starts to rumble quietly again.

Cheryl is asleep within minutes. Brian just shakes his head, amazed at how quickly his usually shy daughter has taken to Derek.

They part with plans for Derek to meet up with Brian and Leslie that weekend for a barbeque, and just like that, Derek has friends his own age.

He is only a little surprised to find Boyd and Erica at the loft when he gets home. Erica’s leg is bouncing up and down while she’s seated on one of the stools in the kitchen watching Boyd bake brownies.

“Derek!” she exclaims when he opens the door. She runs at him holding something small and plastic in her hands.

Derek smiles at her enthusiasm and holds his hand out for what she’s trying to show him. He takes a closer look and sees that it’s a driver’s license. 

Pride overtakes all his other emotions in that moment. He scoops Erica up and spins her around, eliciting a surprised but ecstatic cheer from the beta. “I’m so proud of you.”

Erica’s eyes are wide when he releases her. “Really?” she asks in a small voice. 

He beams back at her, steadfastly ignoring the playful smirk Boyd is throwing his direction. “Really. You know what this means, right?”

Erica frowns and looks at Boyd, who shrugs. “What does this mean?”

Derek reaches in his pocket and takes out the keys to the Camero. He dangles them in front of Erica and pulls them right out of reach when she grabs for them greedily. She laughs and crouches into a fighting stance, which Derek mimics. 

Derek runs around the loft for a few minutes with Erica in pursuit, before he lets her catch him and takes her down to the car for a driving lesson.

He has her drive around the parking lot for a bit before directing her to a nearby gas station to show her how to fill up the tank.

By the time they get back to the loft, Isaac and Stiles are there and Boyd’s brownies are done.

Erica runs and jumps into Boyd’s arms, ignoring the fake retching sounds coming from Isaac.

Derek slides onto the couch next to Stiles and accepts the brownie the boy offers him. They sit in silence, watching Erica and Isaac wrestle for a bit before Stiles speaks.

“So a little birdie told me you had a nice Alpha date with Scott?”

Derek rolls his eyes and cuffs Stiles on the back of the head lightly. “I’ll tell you all about it if you promise never to call it that again.”

“Deal,” Stiles agrees mischievously. 

Boyd’s head raises curiously as he sniffs the air. “Hey, Derek, why do you smell like a small child?”

Derek smiles involuntarily and recounts his interaction with Cheryl and Brian. Stiles’ scent sours into jealousy, but Derek can’t quite place why until Erica pointedly inquires about Cheryl’s mom.

“Oh, her name is Leslie. She went to school with Laura actually.”

“So they’re still together?” Isaac asks innocently. 

Derek makes an affirmative noise, silently reveling in the fact that Stiles’ scent evens out immediately after the confirmation.

“Well, we gotta go,” Erica says abruptly a few seconds later. “Boyd’s grandma’s going to teach us how to make homemade lasagna.” She grabs Isaac and Boyd by the hands and practically drags them out the door.

Stiles shoots them betrayed looks that they, of course, ignore.

Derek ducks his head to hide his blush and stands up in a hurry. He methodically cleans and puts away all the dishes from Boyd’s brownie experiment, half expecting Stiles to leave too.

“You seem happy,” comes Stiles’ voice from closer than Derek had thought he was. 

Derek turns around at the sink and is surprised to find Stiles only a few feet away. “Uh, yeah. I’m having a good day?”

Stiles laughs and takes a step forward. “Why did that sound like a question?”

In a very Stiles-like move, Derek rubs the back of his neck before he answers. “I guess I’m just a little worried it won’t last.”

Stiles hums and purses his lips. “Ok, well we’re just going to have to make sure it does. What would make you happy right now?”

Derek frowns in thought. “Erica talking about lasagna made me kind of want to try making my dad’s old recipe.”

“Ok,” Stiles replies, nodding. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”

“No,” Derek insists, a little too quickly. “I mean, no, you don’t have to go. You could try some if you want?”

Stiles nods happily and walks towards Derek to wash his hands in the sink. Their shoulders brush and Derek tries to ignore the shiver that runs through him.

“I’d love to. But I have to warn you, there’s no way it’s going to be as good as my mom’s recipe.”

Derek cocks his eyebrow, excited at the challenge. “Ok, how about you make your mom’s recipe and I’ll make my dad’s and we’ll see whose is better?”

“Deal.”

They peruse the contents of Derek’s fridge and pantry and find that there are a few items missing from both recipes. Stiles whips out his phone and dials his dad. 

“Hey, pops, I’ve got a proposition for you. If you accept, it will end with you eating some delicious lasagna.”

An hour later, John arrives at the loft laden with grocery bags. He walks through the door to find Stiles and Derek in the midst of a heated discussion about sweet versus savory snacks. 

“You can’t honestly tell me you’d pick pretzels over twizzlers,” Derek shouts while chopping an onion.

“Yes, I can. And I can’t believe you’d pick chocolate over popcorn. You heathen!” Stiles retorts with his back to Derek, taking the ground beef out of its packaging.

“You know, I’ve always liked chocolate and popcorn together,” John says through a grin, startling both Derek and Stiles.

“Dad!”

Their argument forgotten, Stiles and Derek rush John; Stiles to get his ingredients so he can make his lasagna faster, and Derek so he can help the Sheriff with the bags.

“Thanks, son,” he says to Derek when he’s no longer bogged down. 

Derek’s heart skips a beat at the endearment, but there’s no one there to call him on it.

John takes a seat at one of the stools in the kitchen and watches the two work with a twinkle in his eye, like he knows something they don’t. 

Although competing, Derek and Stiles move through the kitchen like they’re dancing. One leaves the stove as the other approaches it, they open and close each other’s cupboards almost rhythmically. And shockingly, they are both finished preparing their lasagnas within seconds of each other.

They put their respective dishes into the oven and wait.

“Hope you don’t mind, Derek,” John says after Derek sets the timer. “But I brought something for us to do while we wait.”

Derek smiles at the man and approaches his stool. John reaches into another bag and pulls out UNO.

“Yes!” Stiles celebrates, leading the other two into the living room and clearing off some space on the coffee table for them to play. 

John figures out pretty quickly that Derek is letting him win. He uses it to his advantage for a few rounds before calling him on it.

Derek ducks his head sheepishly, but agrees not to hold back. The next round, he hits the Sheriff with two Draw Fours and a Skip right in a row.

From then on, it’s every man for themselves. They play steadily for so long, they’re all startled when the timer goes off.

Derek jumps up to pull the lasagnas out of the oven while John and Stiles clear and set the table.

The mischievous twinkle is back in John’s eye as the lasagna is cut and evenly distributed. 

“Ok, dad, now be honest. Derek and I are both going to pick our own lasagna’s, so you have to be the tiebreaker.”

They look at him eagerly while he takes a bite of Stiles’ first, then Derek’s. 

“I can’t choose,” he says, shaking his head. He looks like he’s holding back a laugh.

Derek and Stiles share a frown and dig into their own plates, only to find that their lasagnas are identical.

Not similar, identical.

“What the hell?”

Derek looks around, amused. He checks to make sure he didn’t accidentally serve everyone only one dish, but both have been cut into.

John bursts out laughing at Derek and Stiles’ shared confusion.

“What are we missing?” Derek asks him, glancing at Stiles and seeing his frown mirrored on the boy’s face.

John wipes a tear from his eye and reaches into his back pocket. “When you told me about your competition, I checked Claudia’s recipe book to make sure I was picking up the right kind of tomatoes.” He hands Stiles the recipe card and starts laughing again. 

Derek walks over to Stiles until they are shoulder to shoulder. Stiles looks down at the card, which has on it his mother’s recipe that he had memorized as a kid. There’s nothing on it that would cause his dad to react like this, so he turns it over. On the back side of the card is a handwritten note.

‘Claudia:  
It’s not as good as your gulasz, but then again, not many dishes are.  
\- Robert’

Stiles frowns at the card. “Who’s Robert?”

Derek’s eyes go wide with realization. “Stiles, did your mom work at the courthouse?”

“Yeah,” he replies, nodding slowly. “She was a clerk there, why?”

Derek clears his throat and points at the card again. “My dad,” he says gruffly. “That’s my dad’s handwriting. Robert Hale.”

Stiles gasps and looks to his dad for confirmation.

“I had forgotten they worked together,” John says softly. “He used to joke that his family ate like wild animals. So she would give him recipes that were easy to make, but fed a lot of people, and he would give her ones that tasted good but were healthier.”

Without thinking, Derek reaches out and grabs Stiles’ hand. Stiles grips it back tightly, both lost in memories of their lost parents. 

John gets up quietly and grabs his things. “Alright, I’ve got the early shift tomorrow, so I’ve got to head home. Don’t stay out too late, ok?” he directs at Stiles.

Stiles nods at him absently, still holding Derek’s hand and looking at the recipe card.

“Thank you, John,” Derek calls after him, the words laced with multiple meanings.

The door shuts, leaving Stiles and Derek standing alone in the kitchen.

Derek shakes his head to clear his thoughts and lets go of Stiles’ hand. He sets about cleaning up the kitchen. Somewhere along the way, Stiles puts away the recipe card and joins him. 

They pack up the food, neither of them very hungry at that point, and collapse on the couch.

“Still having a good day?” Stiles asks him nervously. 

Derek smiles to himself, happily surprised to find that he is. “Yeah. It was a bit of a shock, but in a good way.”

Stiles nods in agreement and reaches over Derek to find the remote. They sit in companionable silence for a while, watching an old 90s romcom, until Stiles’ head droops onto Derek’s shoulder.

Derek is struck by how comfortable he is in that moment. He goes over his day in his head and finds himself beaming. He hasn’t felt this happy since his family was alive. Since his pack was healthy and thriving.

He realizes with a jolt that his pack really is happy and thriving. It just looks different now than he thought it would when he was a kid. His family is gone, but he has the promise of a new family. 

When he walks Stiles to the door that night, he blames the leftover happiness from the day for the fact that he leans forward and places a kiss on Stiles’ lips.

Stiles hums in surprise, but melts into it. They part a few minutes later, mumbling about seeing each other tomorrow. And for the first time since the fire, Derek falls asleep smiling.

Now when Derek wakes up in the mornings, he recognizes his optimism for what it is. He is part of a strong pack, he has friends both inside and outside the supernatural world, and more often than not, he gets to wake up next to the person he loves.

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired by [this tumblr post](http://redridinghoodandthesourwolf.tumblr.com/post/27967374458/i-would-legit-watch-an-entire-episode-where)


End file.
